In a perfect and indolent reviewing world (and an the inevitable excuse for brevity) I would sum up Louis Bayard’s “The School of Night” with the following:
“Stunning, simply stunning”
However, a book of this quality doesn’t deserve such an inconsequential review and with this in mind I will continue!
Confession, they say, is good for the soul and the opening line had me vexed!
“Against all odds, against my own wishes, this is a love story. And it began, of all places, at Alonzo Wax’s funeral. “
I would go as far to say it had me stumped. I took a deep breath and lowered the book – I didn’t want to sit down and work my way through a romance novel, it’s just not me. I have no problem watching a chick flick, it’s usually over so quickly, but the thought of sitting down for two days reading a romance novel didn’t exactly fill me with inspiration or should I say desire! That said, people do say – “never judge a book by its cover” – upon completion I would also add “never judge a book by its opening line”!
When I reviewed Urban Waite’s “The Terror of Living” a couple of months ago I remember thinking (and writing) that it would be hard to beat, but after reading “The School of Night” I can say with a high degree of certainty Urban’s debut thriller has stiff competition!
“A shared quest and a mysterious cabal, four centuries apart . . .
When Henry Cavendish attends the funeral of an old friend, the last thing he expects is to be given a business proposition. A handsome sum to retrieve a document that was in his friend’s possession when he died – a letter from Sir …
